The Aberdeenshire-based IT specialists have committed to the new Scottish Business Resilience Centre (SBRC) drive which has the backing of Police Scotland and Scottish Fire and Rescue and is backed by the Scottish Government.
The #PadlockPledge campaign seeks to create a strong economic base for Scotland and help businesses be safe from fire and crime, including cybercrime.
Digital connectivity is essential to most businesses, yet in Scotland, research has shown that six in 10 small to medium sized-businesses (SMEs) which are victims of cyber-attacks do not recover, and close within six months.
Alarmingly, the same research shows three quarters of SMEs in Scotland spent nothing on cyber fraud prevention.
Austen Clark, managing director of Clark IT at Auchterless in Aberdeenshire says: “Most cyberattacks aren’t sophisticated – they’re opportunistic, with hackers looking for exploitable gaps and vulnerabilities.
“They are steadily on the rise as hackers are getting smarter, more sophisticated and more successful. What’s concerning is that too many businesses believe that they are not at risk and that’s simply not the case. Whether you’re a sole trader or a multinational corporation, cybersecurity has to be viewed as an essential part of modern business life.
“There really is no place to hide. Fail to have adequate security guards in place and you could be the next victim, it’s that simple.
“Organisations need to invest in measures to ensure that they stay safe, as failure to do so could prove costly, both financially but also in terms of cost to reputation.
“The value of the human element in IT security can never be underestimated and anyone that uses a PC, laptop, tablet or phone in connection with their work has a responsibility for their company’s security.
“Scottish Business Resilience Centre’s Padlock Pledge is a welcome campaign to drive home the message and heighten awareness of the potential risks to firms of all sizes.“To maintain a healthy, security-conscious culture in the workplace, awareness and training of the type of threats and security issues affecting business today is important.
“Prevention is better than cure and staff vigilance, found among a well-trained and supported workforce, goes a long way to warding off disaster.”
SRBC will be delivering a range of advanced training, support and intelligence sharing for firms to help mitigate threats like online fraud. The campaign encourages Scottish businesses to sign up and make to a clear commitment to safety and resilience.
A #PadlockPledge could be anything from committing to make online passwords more complex to keeping staff safe through lone worker training. Those that sign up join a national network committed to be more resilient to the threat of fire risk and criminal activity, including cybercrime.
To assist SMEs reduce their vulnerability to cyberattacks, the Scottish Government introduced CyberEssentials and CyberEssentials Plus.
As a trusted partner, Clark IT has helped a number of businesses gain this validation, helping them implement basic levels of protection against cyberattack, and demonstrating to their customers that they take cyber security seriously.
For more information on Clark IT, visit its website https://www.clark-it.com/
